nerds and geeks

a few weeks back, i overheard finn and scout discussing whether they were Geeks or Nerds.
they were discussing this in earnest and with much enthusiasm...insisting which one they were
and sharing reasons why.  i just sat back listening and smiling.

later in the week, i mentioned their conversation to a coworker, a proud engineer and nerd.
he chuckled and forwarded this link to me which i forwarded to my children and to c.
i found it highly entertaining and interesting.

http://m.wikihow.com/Tell-the-Difference-Between-Nerds-and-Geeks

after reading this thoroughly, i would classify our firstborn as a geek,
but there is some crossover because as #5 points out, nerds are typically interested
in STEM related subjects and well, that's finn....a huge science and space lover.

i wonder what finn would say he is. {i must remember to ask him}. 
though scout is highly intelligent, and scored higher on the IQ test than his brother,
i wouldn't consider him to be a geek or a nerd. he's far too well rounded.
he's better described as a 'renaissance man'.  {that's for another post}

from what i gathered, scout really wants to be considered a nerd or a geek,
so if he my youngest chooses to give himself one of these labels, this mom will support it.

what a wonderful time to live...when being a geek or a nerd is actually not a bad thing.
i love that the boys go to a school where being smart, is encouraged and celebrated.

all this talk reminded me of a book my 'serious' book group read a year or so ago. it's titled:
the geeks shall inherit the earth: popularity, quirk theory, and why outsiders thrive after high school.  

it was fascinating...and discusses why these people are our bosses today.

boys will be boys

soren (5 1/2), finn (8), christopher, ander (3) and scout (5)

my sweet sister leslie shared this photo with me today and it made me smile.
it was taken during her recent visit - she and the boys spent an afternoon playing
at a park while this momma was missing out on all the fun {i was working}

anyway, the picture made me smile and reminded me that BOYS will be BOYS.  
{no matter what age}.


oh how i wish my sister and nephews lived closer.
we'd share holidays, birthday parties, special events
and LOTS of together time at the park and beach i'm sure. 
though they are here in california, they are a good 8 hours drive away -
a tough drive even without kiddos. *sigh*


we have been able to get together annually, which is better than nothing,
so i feel fortunate at least for that.  we are hopeful someday we can get within
a few hours drive of each other.

i'll share more photos of cousins in a future post.
for now, this picture is the best i can do.  

~ tonight after work, i babysat for my friend Melissa so she could get the
ever important 'date night' in with her hubby. it was tiring after a long day at work,
but i had fun too.  scout and her son, logan {4} spent a chunk of the evening wrestling
and i carried his sweet sister, kennedy {8 months} around when she'd let me.
finn was such a big help - keeping her entertained and feeding her bottles.

i could tell he was really enjoying himself, so i wasn't surprised when he asked
me for a baby sister at bedtime!  we've had that discussion a few times already.
he knows a female puppy is the closest he is going to get to a baby sister. *grin*
first, we need to find our next home, and it's not been easy. {that's for another post} 

my boys are back

my three arrived home saturday night
and i received the BIGGEST hugs of my life at the airport. 
oh it felt so good to be missed!!
(especially after finn and scout told me earlier they didn't want to come home yet).

they were having so much fun and weren't ready.
i let them know their mommy sure was ready to see them!

though it was nice to have a few hours to myself every evening last week,
it's wonderful to have my boys back home.



christopher, finn (7) and scout (3 1/2)
image: bubba-loo photography



boys in my house

 boys in my house
~ erin jo kilmer



image: google



i found this poem on the internet last night and it made me smile.
this goes out to all those mommies with boys.


there are boys in my house - and spiderman shoes
and 200 papers in various blues.
there's bob (he's a builder) and thomas the train,
there's a fireman coat to wear in the rain.

they have cars on their shirts and frogs on their hats
there's a glove and a ball and a red plastic bat.
there's dirt on a face and a smudge on a nose;
grass stains on knees and sand between toes.

there's bathtime at night with bodies to scrub,
and when we're all done there is dirt in the tub!
 there's bandaids and bruises and curious bumps,
there's smiles and laughter and sometimes there's grumps.

there's odors most icky; there's boogers so green
there's more yucky things than i'll ever get clean.
there's piles of laundry; there's stories at night;
there's bedtime and bathtime and dinnertime fights.

there's cars and there's trains and there's books about trucks,
there's scoop, lofty, dizzy, and travis, and muck.
sometimes there are bugs, and sometimes there are frogs;
sometimes they are lions, or dinos, or dogs.

there's running and climbing and jumping and falling
and laughing and crying and hugging and brawling ,
there's rolling and losing and finding and creeping
and whining and stealing and sometimes there's sleeping.

there's tantrums and time outs and extra loud noise

there's love in my house shaped like two little boys.

mad about monsters

as a mom of just boys, you will find no dolls, barbies or pink princess costumes in our home.
one thing you will find are 'monster' things - books, toys, clothes and my favorite, and a wood sign in the cottage loft that says 'no monsters allowed'. i ordered it on-line somewhere when finn was just a toddler. so so cute.

i received this month's garnet hill catalog, and came across this monster bedding and fell in LOVE with it!
it's absolutely perfect for the boys' bedroom and i knew immediately christopher would love it too because of the simple and clean design. i showed him and sure enough, he said "order it". these are words i rarely hear when it comes to 'extras' for the house - especially things we don't really need. i will control myself and purchase a set of matching fleece twin blankets first. the nights are cool now and the boys could use them.

with any luck, maybe the monster bedding will go on sale? highly unlikely since they just came out.
i can still hope and i will certainly be checking back regularly.

i've posted a picture below - taken right of of garnet hill's website.
you can see why neither of us could resist. SUPER DUPER cute!

krazy for krispy kreme

before finn went to bed last night,
he asked if we could have a special morning.
i asked what he meant by special.
he responded "can we go to krispy kreme." *laugh*

donuts are something we rarely eat in our home,
but since it had been a long time,
i said 'ok' even though i knew c would give me a little grief for it.

i just had to remind him that finn actually loves watching the
donut-making process more than eating the donuts.
if i told finn we were just going to go through the drive-thru,
he wouldn't want to go.

so before we went on our field trip and to get our morning sugar buzz,
i got an early morning run in, c fed them a *real* breakfast,
then i headed to the bakery.

as soon as we walked through the door,
the boys ran straight to the window to watch the donut making process.

they were fascinated with it all,
from the rotating wheel that drops the donuts into the hot grease,
 to the conveyor belt that takes them through the sugar waterfall.

it was a good 15 minutes before i could coerce them over to come
over to the case and select a ready-to-eat donuts.
even with all their choices (sprinkles, chocolate, jelly filled)
they both ended up with a simple glazed donut.
my favorite too.

Xs and Os

where there is love there is life.

- gandhi

sending hugs and kisses your way!

playing

we don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.

- benjamin franklin

playing with my little guys reminds me that life shouldn't be taken too serious all the time. that i need to laugh more and to just be in the moment. it feels so good, and though it doesn't stop the hands of time, it certainly makes me feel younger and there's alot to be said for that.

the evenings have been super nice lately, so the boys and i try to come up with fun things to do after i get home from work. this particular evening we all went to the beach at the end of our street. we had races in the sand, buried our feet, gave each other rides in the big dump truck and finn even played photographer.



scout (18 months), pix courtesy of finn gerber

  

superheros

sometimes being a brother is better than being a superhero
~ marc brown

finn recently went to a friend's birthday where all the kids were asked to
come dressed as superheros. i thought it was such an adorable themed party!

a generous mom friend donated her child's old halloween costume for finn to wear.
the costume was 'dash', the character from the pixar film the incredibles.
if you haven't had the pleasure of enjoying it, rent it!
it's fun even for adults and will keep you laughing.

finn put on the costume this morning and ran around the backyard acting
tough and asking if he runs FAST like dash (quickness is dash's super power).

scout ran around after his big brother mimicing his every move and trying to keep up.
eventually, he opted for a hug and to sit and watch him from the backyard deck.

fortunately, my batteries were charged this time and my camera close.

finn oliver (aka 'dash')

our special day

i took today off work so finn and I could have a mommy and son day.
i wanted to do something extra special to celebrate his 5th birthday (which is actually tomorrow).

so what did we do? i took him to legoland. i had planned it weeks before the big day, but i only told finn about it a week ago as waiting any longer that he had would just be torture for him.

though it was forecasted to rain, it was a perfect day. the threat of rain kept most away and we almost felt like we had the park to ourselves. we rode every ride except for two - finn was too short for one and the other well, he said it was "too scary" i was secretly happy for this as it looked like one that might make me ill the rest of the day. he was tall enough to ride a smaller rollercoaster and we rode it 6 times! finn screamed at the top of his lungs the entire time - just for fun.

for most of the day, finn was beaming and holding my hand everywhere we went, so happy to have me all to himself (a rare thing these days). i equally enjoyed being by his side - just mom, with no other people competing for my attention. out of the blue, he said, "mommy this is a great day. i love you" *sniff*

finn may never remember today, but i don't think i'll forget it.
happy birthday sweet finn.

looking ahead

a recent conversation with finn one evening before bed finn: mommy, when i get big i am going to marry you so i don't ever have to leave you. me: (sigh) you can't marry me honey because i'm already married to daddy. someday, you'll meet a really special girl and want to marry her and live with her in your own house. finn: well since i can't marry you mommy, i'll marry christi. she's not married. me: (laugh) i can only hope that finn meets a young woman as lovely as our christi. she has all the qualities that i'd hope my boys will look for in their soulmate. she is kind, loving, fun, hard-working, honest, patient and she loves her family. i know it's years away and it sounds cheesy, but i'd be a happy mother if finn or scout brought home a girl like her.

how it goes...

you get what you get and you don't throw a fit - miss melissa, finn's preschool teacher - at st andrews this is a line finn used when one of his buddy's was over and was complaining about the color of popsicle i gave him. for guests i'll usually go out of my way to accomodate their preference in popsicle color or sandwich type, but this particular day i was out of the color he wanted and he started to whine. finn quickly said "xxxx, you get what you get and you don't throw a fit." i loved this phrase from the moment i heard it and i use it regularly. in fact, i used it with scout tonight.